USB ~ Psalms 139

The All-knowing and Ever-present God

1 For the leader. A psalm of David. LORD, you have probed me, you know me:

2 you know when I sit and stand;† a you understand my thoughts from afar.

3 You sift through my travels and my rest; with all my ways you are familiar.

4 Even before a word is on my tongue, LORD, you know it all.

5 Behind and before you encircle me and rest your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, far too lofty for me to reach. b

7 Where can I go from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee?

8 If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol, there you are. c

9 If I take the wings of dawn† and dwell beyond the sea,†

10 Even there your hand guides me, your right hand holds me fast.

11 If I say, “Surely darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light”† —

12 Darkness is not dark for you, and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are but one. d

13 You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. e

14 I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know.

15 My bones are not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned in the depths of the earth.†

16 Your eyes saw me unformed; in your book all are written down; f my days were shaped, before one came to be.

III

17 How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them!

18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sands; when I complete them, still you are with me. g

19 When you would destroy the wicked, O God, the bloodthirsty depart from me! h

20 Your foes who conspire a plot against you are exalted in vain.

21 Do I not hate, LORD, those who hate you? Those who rise against you, do I not loathe? i

22 With fierce hatred I hate them, enemies I count as my own.

23 Probe me, God, know my heart; try me, know my thoughts. j

24 See if there is a wicked path in me; lead me along an ancient path.† * Psalm 139 A hymnic meditation on God’s omnipresence and omniscience. The psalmist is keenly aware of God’s all-knowing gaze (Ps 139:1-6), of God’s presence in every part of the universe (Ps 139:7-12), and of God’s control over the psalmist’s very self (Ps 139:13-16). Summing up Ps 139:1-16, 17-18 express wonder. There is only one place hostile to God’s rule—wicked people. The psalmist prays to be removed from their company (Ps 139:19-24).

Footnotes

†. 139:2 When I sit and stand: in all my physical movement.

†. 139:9 Take the wings of dawn: go to the extremities of the east. Beyond the sea: uttermost bounds of the west; the sea is the Mediterranean.

†. 139:11 Night shall be my light: night to me is what day is to others.

†. 139:15 The depths of the earth: figurative language for the womb, stressing the hidden and mysterious operations that occur there.

†. 139:24 Lead me along an ancient path: the manner of living of our ancestors, who were faithful to God’s will, cf. Jer 6:16.

139:2 2 Kgs 19:27; Jb 12:3.
139:6 Ps 131:1.
139:8 Jb 23:8-9; Jer 23:23-24.
139:12 Jb 12:22.
139:13 Wis 7:1; Eccl 11:5; Jb 1:21.
139:16 Mal 3:16.
139:18 Jb 11:7.
139:19 Jb 21:14.
139:21 Ps 119:158.
139:23 Ps 17:3; 26:2.